Taking First Time Disney Family - Which Park First?

[Goofy for 1971]

So excited, my head just might explode!! My "seasoned" Disney family will be taking our close friends with us in 2017 for their VERY FIRST DISNEY WORLD VACATION!! So as their travel guides, we are planning our trip. I have my thoughts - but I'm interested to see from my fellow Disney FANatics what they think.

So the question is: Which of the 4 Disney Parks do you think should be their FIRST park to experience?

 

[happymommy]

I'd say go with whatever the adults want to do; it's all new to the kids!

Every trip, our arrival day we go to Epcot, even if for only a couple of hours. We enjoy getting dinner around the World Showcase, enjoying a beer or soft drink from another country, and if we can stay awake watch Illuminations.

We actually do Magic Kingdom later, like day 2 or 3. For our next trip, it's day 3 (but we have AP's so we can always hop, but we have AK booked the first full day and don't have the stamina to go all day and night).

I would think for a first time visit, Magic Kingdom would be best after a good night's sleep and then arrive early. So arrival day I think Epcot is perfect.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

I always have to start a trip in Magic Kingdom. It's quintessential Disney!

Rope Drop to see the welcome show, or get a PPO at BOG.

 

[Accident]

I always want to not do MK first as it's the most disney but there is something for a never been there family about seeing hte castle, finally getting to do these things they heard about their whole life and really diving into the disney park of it.. I think it's best to just dive in and give them the castle right away.. let them turn back into 10 year olds and the rest of the trip will be more relaxed instead of the anxiety of when will they get there...

Where another park has worked really well is when everyone has been there before and they know what they want.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

IMHO, definitely MK. There is nothing more Disney than starting your trip with the opening show, entering the park and seeing the castle.

 

[jtopp]

Magic Kingdom, without question. Seeing the castle for the first time is what makes Disney as magical as it is. Adults appreciate it, but kids dream of it.

 

[Night Huntress]

This is our very first time going to Disney and I'm not even doing Magic Kingdom until day 4 lol. Most of that has to do with timing though. I am going the week of Columbus Day and really didn't want to do Magic Kingdom that Sunday. Also we wanted to take advantage of the EMH. So we are doing DS arrival day, then HS, then AK, then Epcot, then MK, then Epcot, then MK (& halloween party) and then AK for part of the day that we are leaving.

 

[adisneyaunt]

Rope Drop, Magic Kingdom!
It is just Everything Disney.

 

[DisneyNewbieDad]

I'm thinking about a similar itinerary to avoid crowds for Oct 2017. I'd love to hear how it goes.

 

[suswa]

We are doing AK first day, this will be my daughters first time at Disney and I don't want to blow the whole week by starting with MK and then having others pale in comparison. We visit MK last but for 2 days and then a 3rd for MNSSHP. We will do Epcot 2nd and HS 3rd.

 

[kjw42]

We started at Epcot for day one followed by AK for multiple reasons. One was the scheduling of events ( parades, fireworks, etc.). Were also had an afternoon arrival and we wanted the kids first Magic Kingdom day to be a full day. Lastly, there were several recommendations that while all the parks are awesome it's hard for the rest to live up to the MK, especially for little kids. We wanted them to enjoy the other parks as they are and not be expecting a MK like experience at all of them.

 

[monorailsilver]

For me, it would be which ever park has the early entry. We get park hoppers so after our mid day break we go elsewhere.

But for you, I would ask them. They might like some thing other then what you like.

 

[Hikergirl]

MK!!

 

[jmccoy18]

MK hands down!

 

[Order66]

I think it depends on the dynamics of the group you are bringing. While lots of people recommend MK as "most Disney", and I'd agree, but I agree more with the folks who said that the other parks can't live up to MK in terms of things to do and see. If your group includes kids that are going to be all about rides, definitely start anywhere but MK. If it's adults who'd be more inclined to enjoy the atmosphere and food and beverages offered at other parks, by all means start anywhere.

My kids and I went on a "first Disney trip" with my friend and her two kids this summer. While we did begin our park visits with AK, because I wanted her to do a character meal as her first official Disney trip kick off, we did hop over to MK for the evening. Her kids loved it! The other parks just did not hold their interest the way MK did. My kids are teens and have been many times so they find something enjoyable about each park. But in terms of things to constantly do to keep younger kids happy, MK is it. If I'd have thought about it, I would have held off on MK til our 3rd day and hopped anywhere else on that first day. But I really thought her son, who's a big Star Wars fan, would have loved HS enough to stay there all day. It turned out to be the park he complained at the most and just wanted to go back to MK for the better rides. If he hadn't have been to MK first, he probably would have enjoyed it more.

regards

 

[tami82]

You should go to the MK first to really get you into the Disney spirit.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We always start with Magic Kingdom and end with Magic Kingdom. There is no other way.

 

[kohlby]

We've always based our days on crowd calendars. We've done different parks first and it's always worked out great. (As for best park, my kids have always preferred Epcot over MK until recently. Now two still prefer Epcot but one prefers Studios).

 

[thingwithwings]

I'd think it depends on their interests. Magic Kingdom 100% gives that quintessential "Disney" feel, and I think it's a fun place to start any Disney vacation, but it might not be as much fun for an older crowd. If they're not SUPER into getting that big punch of Disney feeling, I'd start with Epcot and a leisurely stroll through World Showcase. I never feel super rushed to get to attractions there (that may change, depending on Kiddo's feelings towards Elsa when we go in December), and it's just a more fun "do what you want" feeling experience than other parks, at least so I've found.

 

[jknewberry]

I think it depends on the group going. With young kids, we did MK first and last with 4 & 5 day passes, with Epcot and AK on the other days. Kids's ages were 1.5/3.5 and 2.5/4.5 for those trips. Our next trip, the boys will be 7 & 9, and my little one not quite 3, so we are going to do MK-Epcot-AK- break- HS-MK this trip.

If my kids were older and we were going for the first time, I would likely do Epcot first and MK last.